(SINL NIGERIA) The Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio has described the Raw Materials Research and Development Council Act, 2002 (Amendment) bill, 2024 as a game changer.
According to Akpabio, the bill seeks to enshrine a fundamental economic truth that no nation can attain a true economic greatness by exporting its wealth in its crudest form without processing them to at least a minimum of 30 percent before export.
The Senate President spoke on Wednesday while declaring open public hearing on Raw Materials Research and Development Council Act, 2002 (Amendment) bill, 2024 held in Abuja.
He stated that the bill seeks to make it mandatory that every raw material available in Nigeria must be processed at least to 30% before export.
Akpabio, represented by the sponsor of the bill, Senator Peter
Nwebonyi said “let us remember this day as a day we choose to walk in the path of progress over complacency. This bill, if passed, will be a foundation upon our economic triumph as a nation”.
And we are here today to change the narrative. This bill before us seems to be a game changer, as it seeks to enshrine a fundamental economic truth that no nation can attain a true economic greatness by exporting its wealth in its crudest form without processing them to at least a minimum of 30% before exporting them. This bill seeks to make it mandatory that every raw material available in Nigeria must be processed at least to 30% before export.
“By so doing, jobs are created, value is added to our economy. Distinguished colleagues, stakeholders, and partaking Nigerians, let us remember this day as a day we choose to walk in the path of progress over complacency. This bill, if passed, will be a foundation upon our economic triumph as a nation” Akpabio said.
He continued: “Today we are here not merely as lawmakers, policy makers, or industry experts, but as custodians of Nigeria’s economic destiny.
“Our decision taking here today will determine our economic future as a nation. It is right to say that our country Nigeria is so blessed with abundant natural resources, only to extract these our natural wealth from our land and ship them abroad in its rawest form, thereby allowing the foreign industries to reap all the benefits that naturally should have belonged to our people, Nigerians. This practice must not continue, and that is the rationale behind this bill” Akpabio added.
Speaking on the sideline shortly after the public hearing, the Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, expressed optimism that the bill will add value to the nation’s export.
He said “this policy is long overdue. We cannot continue to export raw materials in their virgin form without value addition. It is time to stop enriching foreign countries while impoverishing ourselves.
“This initiative is not just for RMRDC but for all ministries, agencies, and citizens of Nigeria. It marks the beginning of a new dawn”.
Also speaking, Secretary General of the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI), Prof. Theophilus Ndubusi, observed that the proposed policy is a turning point.
He emphasized “When you export raw materials without processing them, you’re paying for the labour of another country”.
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